Summary
Martin McKinney, has experienced a life that many dread. Having to endure an alcoholic father and a verbally abusive mother, the long suffered emotional pain has left him scarred, broken spirit and no self-confidence. Dreading being in a room with the doors closed, Martin is summons to speak with his dying father for what would be their last conversation. Not having the best relationship and anticipating the worse, he is surprised and taken back when his father tries to make amends for his wrongdoings and speaks about his past in Vietnam which reveals a part of him that he never saw or heard before. He sees for the first time how his experience was what changed him. Taking in the moment not knowing which way to feel, he is hung on to his every word which unravels a locked boxed of secrets that would forever change his life.

In his last requests, he asks Martin to fulfill his dying wish. He asks Martin to spread his ashes where he was haunted by the image of a woman who he was mesmerized by and where he lost his brothers to war. Feeling obligated, he sets out to do regardless of what has happened. Against his mothers’ wishes, he set forth on an emotionally life challenging experience that took him across the world of uncertainty that unravel old secrets that would forever haunt them. On his journey, he encounters a young woman who with only a brief encounter would hold key to confronting the past and unfold a series of events that leads up to redemption and closure.

Review
If there is a book to read this year, this is definitely one to put on your list. The way this book was written seemed a literary seamed perfection. The plot is so cohesively bounded and just flows from beginning to end. From the first chapter, you become invested into this family’s lives with their secrets and unraveled truths. This was one of those page turning books that your mind quenched for more because you wanted resolution, redemption and to experience that plight to get answers because you not only wanted but needed to know. The characters were written in such a way that the dialogue and the storyline just pull you in where you feel like you know them and share their experiences as it happens.

This is genuinely a book reading not only for the story but if you appreciate a well written one. You won’t be disappointed.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Release Date: 1/12/13
Pages: 247

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